Armbrust

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the anti-tank weapon. For the Kiddy Grade character, see List of Kiddy Grade characters.

Armbrust

Type	anti-tank weapon
Place of origin	Germany/Singapore
Service history
Used by	Singapore Philippines
Wars	Croatian homeland war
Specifications
Weight	6.3 kg
Length	850 mm
Width	126 mm
Height	140 mm
Crew	1

Caliber	67 mm
Action	Single shot
Rate of fire	N/A
Muzzle velocity	210 m/s
Effective range	300 m
Maximum range	300 m
Feed system	N/A
Sights	Reticle, externally illuminated for night

Armbrust (German: Crossbow) is a lightweight unguided anti-tank weapon developed by Germany, who later sold its manufacturing rights to Singapore. The Armbrust equips the Singapore infantry section with rudimentary anti-tank capability.

The Armbrust is a recoilless weapon, and its design is one of the few weapons of its kind that may safely be fired in an enclosed space. The propellant charge is placed between two pistons with the projectile in front of one and a mass of shredded plastic in the rear. Unlike most recoilless weapons it is a true countershot weapon, the mass of the projectile is equal to the mass of the counterweight and they are ejected from the barrel at the same initial velocity. When the weapon is fired the propellant expands pushing the two pistons out. The projectile is forced out the front and the plastic out the back. The plastic disperses upon leaving the back of the barrel, and is quickly stopped by air resistance. The pistons jam at either end of the barrel locking the hot gases inside.

Its warhead can penetrate up to 300mm of armoured steel.

Armbrusts are gradually being replaced by the Singapore-German-Israeli co-developed MATADOR, starting 2004.